Meghan interview draws major ratings
Even people who don’t closely follow every move of Britain’s royal family were obviously riveted to Oprah Winfrey’s explosive interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on Sunday night.
According to Nielsen, the two-hour CBS special, “Oprah with Meghan and Harry,” delivered 17.1 million viewers.
That’s the largest primetime audience for any entertainment special in the 2020-2021 season. It was also the largest prime-time audience for any entertainment special since the Academy Awards on Feb. 9, 2020.
On social media, the interview drove 12 billion potential impressions, according to CBS. The special dominated the night, with the word Meghan trending within the top 10 in the U.S. for 12 hours and peaking at No. 1. #OprahMeghanHarry, Archie, Kate, Charles, Diana, William and Royal all trended within the top 10 Sunday night as well. It was also CBS’ most-livestreamed event outside of the NFL and Super Bowl Sunday.
In the interview, Prince Harry and Meghan claimed that unnamed members of the royal family had a discussion about “how dark” their baby’s skin tone would be. Also, Harry revealed that the rift between he and his father, Prince Charles, became so wide that the elder royal at one point “stopped taking my calls.” And Meghan said that she felt so alone and confined in the palace that she “just didn’t want to be alive anymore.”
Winfrey, appearing Monday on “CBS This Morning,” said Harry requested she reveal that neither of his grandparents, Queen Elizabeth or Prince Philip, asked the question about Archie’s skin tone.
WASHINGTON >> In a first step toward reversing a contentious Trump administration policy, President Joe Biden on Monday ordered his administration to review federal rules guiding colleges in their handling of campus sexual assaults.
In an executive order, Biden directed the Education Department to examine rules that the Trump administration issued around Title IX, the federal law that forbids sex discrimination in education. Biden directed the agency to “consider suspending, revising or rescinding” any policies that fail to protect students.
Biden also signed a second executive order formally establishing the White House Gender Policy Council, which his transition team had announced before he took office.
“The policy of this administration is that every individual, every student is entitled to a fair education — free of sexual violence — and that all involved have access to a fair process,” Jennifer Klein, co-chair and executive director of the Gender Policy Council, told reporters at a White House briefing.
The orders were issued on International Women’s Day, a global celebration marking the achievements of women.
Both measures had been expected from Biden, who focused on gender equity during his campaign and previously promised to put an “immediate” end to rules that were finalized last year by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
DeVos’ policy made sweeping changes to the way colleges respond to sexual harassment and assault, with provisions that bolster the rights of the accused and narrow the scope of cases schools are required to address. It was seen as a swing away from Obama-era guidance that focused on protecting victims of sexual misconduct.
Among other changes, DeVos’ rules narrowed the definition of sexual harassment, reduced the legal liability of colleges investigating sexual misconduct claims and gave accused students the right to cross-examine their accusers through a representative at live campus hearings.
Biden’s order for a review drew praise from civil rights groups that say DeVos’ policy has had a chilling effect on the reporting of sexual assaults, and also from colleges that say the rules are overly prescriptive and burdensome to follow.
“This is an important step,” said Shiwali Patel, senior counsel at the National Women’s Law Center. “The Title IX rules changes that took place under the Trump administration are incredibly harmful, and they’re still in effect.”
Although the order sets the stage for a major policy shift, change is unlikely to come quickly. Any effort to rewrite DeVos’ rules would have to go through a federal rulemaking process that can take years to complete. It took three years, for example, for DeVos to reverse the Obama guidance and complete her own set of rules.
Terry Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council on Education, said Biden’s announcement was welcome but changes very little immediately. “In the meantime, the Trump regulations will remain in place,” Hartle said.
Republicans slammed Biden’s move and defended DeVos’ rules.
“The right to due process is bigger than partisan politics — it is a cornerstone of American democracy,” said North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx, the ranking Republican on the House education committee. “By overturning these stakeholder-vetted, court supported rules, key protections for victims and the due process rights of the accused would be jeopardized.”
Some of the most contentious aspects of DeVos’ rules — including the requirement to allow cross-examinations — are expected to be eliminated in the Biden overhaul. But rather than reverting to Obama’s 2011 policies, some legal experts expect Biden to seek a middle ground that equally protects accused students and their accusers.
Part of the solution will likely include greater flexibility for schools as they respond to complaints, said Josh Richards, a lawyer who advises universities on Title IX issues. The scope of cases that colleges must address is also likely to be expanded again under the Biden administration, he said.
A rollback of the existing regulation would be a blow to DeVos, who saw it as one of her signature achievements. In a parting letter to Congress in January, she urged lawmakers to “reject any efforts to undercut this important rule for survivors.” Their approval, however, is not needed to create new agency rules.
Biden is starting the process even as DeVos’ policy faces ongoing legal challenges. Multiple lawsuits have been filed asking federal courts to strike down the policy, including a new suit filed Monday by a group of high school students in California. A lawsuit by the National Women’s Law Center is scheduled to go to trial in November.
“This is an important step. The Title IX rules changes that took place under the Trump administration are incredibly harmful, and they’re still in effect.”
— Shiwali Patel, senior counsel at the National Women’s Law Center
The California Teachers Association spent nearly $94,000 on cable advertising highlighting COVID-19 cases in schools. They say a January 2021 outbreak at Oakmont High in Roseville forced hundred’s of students to quarantine for 14 days. (Roseville Joint Union High School students have been learning on campus since fall 2020.) They conveniently leave out the fact that as of the week of Feb. 22, only four students and one staff member had confirmed cases of COVID-19 out of a district with 11,524 students and staff, a positivity rate of 0.043%.
CTA insists teachers must go to the head of the line and be vaccinated before they return to classrooms. But the CDPH website shows 74% of COVID-19 deaths have been in people over 65 years old. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 75% of California teachers are between 25 and 54 years old. The CTA says they want to put safety first. For those over 65, notsomuch.
— Martin Wilmington
Castro Valley